Rick Ball
@rickball.bsky.social
IP, Competition & EU Law, Derby County, LA Rams & wonderful Weymouth are my passions
Reposted by Rick Ball
Sanchez is right: the choice is btwn "becoming closed & impoverished societies or open & prosperous ones". In the Routledge Guide to the European Union, 2nd ed, I wrote that countries discouraging migrants wd be losers; those that welcomed them & fitted them into economies & societies wd be winners.
February 6, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Sanchez is right: the choice is btwn "becoming closed & impoverished societies or open & prosperous ones". In the Routledge Guide to the European Union, 2nd ed, I wrote that countries discouraging migrants wd be losers; those that welcomed them & fitted them into economies & societies wd be winners.
Reposted by Rick Ball
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Rick Ball
Me too:
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Me too:
Reposted by Rick Ball
Count to one hundred. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog reflecting on a frenetic fortnight of domestic and international news, the state of the reset, the significance of the latest calls for 'proper Brexit', and the anger suffusing our politics: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/coun...
February 6, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Count to one hundred. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog reflecting on a frenetic fortnight of domestic and international news, the state of the reset, the significance of the latest calls for 'proper Brexit', and the anger suffusing our politics: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/coun...
Reposted by Rick Ball
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Rick Ball
As people have explained in the debate today, because months ago there wasn't the funding for it.
The country was initially in an awful place when Labour took over and needed stablising and needed things changing.
This plan is now fully funded and integrated into a wider strategy to do EVEN MORE.
The country was initially in an awful place when Labour took over and needed stablising and needed things changing.
This plan is now fully funded and integrated into a wider strategy to do EVEN MORE.
February 3, 2026 at 7:01 PM
As people have explained in the debate today, because months ago there wasn't the funding for it.
The country was initially in an awful place when Labour took over and needed stablising and needed things changing.
This plan is now fully funded and integrated into a wider strategy to do EVEN MORE.
The country was initially in an awful place when Labour took over and needed stablising and needed things changing.
This plan is now fully funded and integrated into a wider strategy to do EVEN MORE.
Reposted by Rick Ball
On 30 January 1649 Charles I was executed.
Dr Patrick Little explored the process by which one MP, Sir Hardress Waller, came to sign his death warrant.
Dr Patrick Little explored the process by which one MP, Sir Hardress Waller, came to sign his death warrant.
Execution of Charles I - ‘King-killer’: the Making of a Regicide - The History of Parliament
In the fourth in our series on the tumultuous events of the winter of 1648-9, and following on from the trial of Charles I, we turn now to the consequence of
historyofparliament.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:30 AM
On 30 January 1649 Charles I was executed.
Dr Patrick Little explored the process by which one MP, Sir Hardress Waller, came to sign his death warrant.
Dr Patrick Little explored the process by which one MP, Sir Hardress Waller, came to sign his death warrant.
Reposted by Rick Ball
Fantastic #BrexitDay thoughts from Ulf in Germany 🇩🇪 on @lbc.co.uk
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
January 31, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Fantastic #BrexitDay thoughts from Ulf in Germany 🇩🇪 on @lbc.co.uk
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
Reposted by Rick Ball
JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”
January 31, 2026 at 4:54 AM
JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”
So I’d just like to say, Bristol Rovers (sorry City) 0, Derby County 5. Who put the ball in the Bristol net…you know the rest 🤘
January 31, 2026 at 9:05 AM
So I’d just like to say, Bristol Rovers (sorry City) 0, Derby County 5. Who put the ball in the Bristol net…you know the rest 🤘
Reposted by Rick Ball
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by Rick Ball
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
The boundless mystery of Assimilated EU Law? - UK in a changing Europe
Simon Usherwood explores the issues that the UK faces in managing the legislation it adopted as a member state of the EU following Brexit.
ukandeu.ac.uk
January 27, 2026 at 11:46 AM
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
Niche, you say niche, this is so primetime IMHO. But then I'm allegedly sad anyway...according to my students & daughter :-)
My niche concerns, shared with you
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
January 27, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Niche, you say niche, this is so primetime IMHO. But then I'm allegedly sad anyway...according to my students & daughter :-)
Reposted by Rick Ball
My three @prospectmagazine.co.uk posts on the Minnesota killings and government thuggery
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Death in Minnesota
The significance of the reaction to the killing of Renee Nicole Good
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 8:41 PM
My three @prospectmagazine.co.uk posts on the Minnesota killings and government thuggery
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Reposted by Rick Ball
I decided to begin my book about Britain with a quote from Scotland‘s greatest poet.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
”My heart's in the highlands, my heart is not here...”
Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, born #OTD 1759.
‘Lost portrait’ by Sir Henry Raeburn, 1803, unveiled at National Galleries of Scotland #BurnsNight #AuldLangSyne
Blackie House Museum & Library | Dr Bendor Grosvenor
Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, born #OTD 1759.
‘Lost portrait’ by Sir Henry Raeburn, 1803, unveiled at National Galleries of Scotland #BurnsNight #AuldLangSyne
Blackie House Museum & Library | Dr Bendor Grosvenor
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 AM
I decided to begin my book about Britain with a quote from Scotland‘s greatest poet.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
Reposted by Rick Ball
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
January 17, 2026 at 5:36 PM
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
Reposted by Rick Ball
I’m old enough to remember when many of the voices saying very little tonight told us very loudly that Obama and Biden were anti-British.
January 18, 2026 at 12:27 AM
I’m old enough to remember when many of the voices saying very little tonight told us very loudly that Obama and Biden were anti-British.
Reposted by Rick Ball
ICE raids are not the first time this was made explicit. I think people downplay how much Jim Crow was not just about controlling Black people but it was also about controlling white people. If you thought racism was dumb and acted that way you could end up with a bomb in your home
Just keep coming back to the fact that keeping people in a constant state of terror is a form of mass disablement and essential to the eugenic project that is the United States.
January 17, 2026 at 6:08 AM
ICE raids are not the first time this was made explicit. I think people downplay how much Jim Crow was not just about controlling Black people but it was also about controlling white people. If you thought racism was dumb and acted that way you could end up with a bomb in your home
Reposted by Rick Ball
Reposted by Rick Ball
Then: constitutional law should be boring, not exciting.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
January 15, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Then: constitutional law should be boring, not exciting.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Reposted by Rick Ball
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
January 13, 2026 at 6:20 PM
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
Reposted by Rick Ball
Farage still defends a decision that decimated our economy, tore our country apart and damaged our ability to determine our nations future. Join LME standing up to him and fighting to reset our relationship with the EU for sake of trade, security and our sanity. www.labourmovementforeurope.uk/join
January 9, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Farage still defends a decision that decimated our economy, tore our country apart and damaged our ability to determine our nations future. Join LME standing up to him and fighting to reset our relationship with the EU for sake of trade, security and our sanity. www.labourmovementforeurope.uk/join
Reposted by Rick Ball
Erasmus: UK government has just updated its page on Erasmus advising students what they need to do if they wish to participate, now that a deal has been done to return to the EU programme.
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
Study in the European Union
What you need to do if you're planning to start higher education in the EU.
www.gov.uk
January 9, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Erasmus: UK government has just updated its page on Erasmus advising students what they need to do if they wish to participate, now that a deal has been done to return to the EU programme.
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...